3834. panourgia

Lexicon

panourgia: Craftiness, cunning, trickery

Original Word: πανουργία
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: panourgia
Pronunciation: pah-noor-GEE-ah
Phonetic Spelling: (pan-oorg-ee'-ah)
Definition: Craftiness, cunning, trickery
Meaning: shrewdness, skill; hence: cunning, craftiness.

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

cunning, craftiness, subtilty.

From panougos; adroitness, i.e. (in a bad sense) trickery or sophistry -- (cunning) craftiness, subtilty.

see GREEK panougos

HELPS Word-studies

3834 panourgía (from 3956 /pás, "every" and 2041 /érgon, "deed") – properly, every (evil) work; (figuratively) crafty behavior; unscrupulous cunning that stops at nothing to achieve a selfish goal.

"The man who practices panourgia (-pan + ergon) is ready to do anything, up to every trick" (P. Hughs, The Second Epistle to the Corinthians, 123).

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
from panourgos
Definition
cleverness, craftiness
NASB Translation
craftiness (4), trickery (1).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon

STRONGS NT 3834: πανουργία

πανουργία, πανουργίας, ἡ (πανοῦργος, which see), craftiness, cunning: Luke 20:23; 2 Corinthians 4:2; 2 Corinthians 11:3; Ephesians 4:14; contextually equivalent to a specious or false wisdom, 1 Corinthians 3:19. (Aeschylus, Sophocles, Aristophanes, Xenophon, Plato, Lucian, Aelian, others; πᾶσα τέ ἐπιστήμη χωριζομενη δικαιοσύνης καί τῆς ἄλλης ἀρετῆς πανουργία οὐ σοφία φαίνεται, Plato, Menex., p. 247 a. for עָרְמָה in a good sense, prudence, skill, in undertaking and carrying on affairs, Proverbs 1:4; Proverbs 8:5; Sir. 31:10 (Sir. 34:11.))

Topical Lexicon

Word Origin: Derived from πᾶς (pas, meaning "all") and ἔργον (ergon, meaning "work" or "deed").

Corresponding Greek / Hebrew Entries: While there is no direct Hebrew equivalent for πανουργία, similar concepts can be found in Hebrew words such as עָרְמָה (ormah, Strong's 6195), which means "craftiness" or "shrewdness," and מִרְמָה (mirmah, Strong's 4820), meaning "deceit" or "treachery." These terms capture the essence of cunning and deceit that πανουργία conveys in the Greek New Testament.

Usage: The term πανουργία is used in the New Testament to describe a form of cunning or craftiness that is often associated with deceitful or manipulative behavior. It is used to highlight the contrast between genuine wisdom and deceptive cleverness.

Context: The Greek term πανουργία appears in the New Testament to describe a type of cunning that is often linked with deceit and manipulation. It is used in contexts where individuals or groups employ trickery to achieve their ends, often in opposition to the truth or righteousness.

In 2 Corinthians 4:2, Paul speaks against using "deception" (πανουργία) in the ministry of the gospel, emphasizing the importance of integrity and truthfulness: "Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not practice deceit, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by open proclamation of the truth, we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God."

Similarly, in 2 Corinthians 11:3, Paul expresses concern that the Corinthian believers might be led astray by the same kind of cunning that the serpent used to deceive Eve: "But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may be led astray from your simple and pure devotion to Christ."

The term is also used in Ephesians 4:14, where Paul warns against being swayed by every wind of doctrine through human cunning and deceitful scheming: "Then we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming."

In these passages, πανουργία is contrasted with the truth and sincerity that should characterize the life and ministry of believers. It serves as a warning against the subtle and often hidden dangers of deceit and manipulation, urging believers to remain steadfast in truth and integrity.

Forms and Transliterations

πανουργια πανουργία πανουργίᾳ πανουργιαν πανουργίαν πανουργίας panourgia panourgíāi panourgian panourgían

Englishman's Concordance

Luke 20:23 N-AFS
GRK: αὐτῶν τὴν πανουργίαν εἶπεν πρὸς
NAS: But He detected their trickery and said
KJV: their craftiness, and said
INT: of them the craftiness he said to

1 Corinthians 3:19 N-DFS
GRK: ἐν τῇ πανουργίᾳ αὐτῶν
NAS: THE WISE IN THEIR CRAFTINESS;
KJV: in their own craftiness.
INT: in the craftiness of them

2 Corinthians 4:2 N-DFS
GRK: περιπατοῦντες ἐν πανουργίᾳ μηδὲ δολοῦντες
NAS: not walking in craftiness or
KJV: walking in craftiness, nor handling
INT: walking in craftiness nor falsifying

2 Corinthians 11:3 N-DFS
GRK: ἐν τῇ πανουργίᾳ αὐτοῦ φθαρῇ
NAS: Eve by his craftiness, your minds
KJV: through his subtilty, so your
INT: in the craftiness of him should be corrupted

Ephesians 4:14 N-DFS
GRK: ἀνθρώπων ἐν πανουργίᾳ πρὸς τὴν
NAS: of men, by craftiness in deceitful
INT: of men in craftiness with a view to the

Strong's Greek 3834
5 Occurrences

πανουργίᾳ — 4 Occ.
πανουργίαν — 1 Occ.